EV chargers in flats and apartment buildings in Europe: the right to plug, country by country

In most of Europe, an owner or tenant who lives in a flat can now install an EV charger on their own parking space without a vote of the other owners: a simple prior notice is enough, and refusal is limited to serious grounds. This "right to plug" is required by the recast EU buildings directive, and Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Portugal already apply it in national law. The Netherlands still requires the owners' meeting to approve, and in England a leaseholder still needs the freeholder's consent.

This guide explains the EU rule, the procedure and deadlines country by country, the grounds on which a request can be refused, what a charger in a flat costs, and what an employer can fund for a company car driver. When a charger is not possible, the driver can still charge on another outlet or at work: Voltaback reimburses whatever home charging the car actually uses.

Why charging in flats is harder

A house with a driveway has one owner, one meter and one decision-maker. An apartment building has several layers:

• the parking space may be owned, rented, allocated or shared;
• the cable must usually cross common parts (walls, ceilings, car park) that belong to all the owners;
• the charger has to be connected either to the flat's own meter, which may be far away, or to a building supply, which raises the question of who pays for the electricity;
• the building's grid connection may not have room for many chargers without load management.

This matters: across Europe, a large share of EV drivers who live in houses charge mainly at home, while far fewer apartment dwellers can. For an employer, a driver without home charging pays public prices several times higher per kWh.

The EU rule: a "right to plug" in every member state

The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2024/1275 asks member states to remove the legal barriers to installing chargers in residential buildings. In practice, any owner or tenant should be able to install a charger for their own use without the consent of the co-owners or the landlord, unless there are serious and legitimate grounds to refuse. Member states had to transpose the directive by 29 May 2026. Sources: Directive (EU) 2024/1275, EUR-Lex, AVERE, joint recommendation on the right to plug.

Several countries already had such a rule before the directive; others are still adapting their law. The directive also requires pre-cabling and charging points in new and renovated residential buildings with car parks, which progressively makes the question easier in recent buildings.

Country comparison: the right to install a charger in a flat

Sources: WEG § 20, BGB § 554, Austrian WEG 2002 § 16, RIS, Belgian Civil Code, Book 3, Spanish Horizontal Property Act, BOE, Italian Civil Code art. 1122-bis, Brocardi, Decree-Law 93/2025, Diário da República, GOV.UK consultation.

Country notes: what to know before you ask

Germany

Since 1 December 2020, each owner in a condominium can demand reasonable structural changes for EV charging. The owners' association decides how the work is done (cable route, installer, load management), not whether. Tenants have a parallel right against their landlord, who may ask for additional security for the cost of removal. The federal programme "Laden im Mehrparteienhaus" (2026, €500 million) funds pre-cabling in multi-unit buildings; its application window for owners' associations, small companies and private landlords closed on 10 November 2026. Source: Federal Government.

Austria

The Austrian rule is one of the most practical in Europe. An owner sends a clear notice describing the installation and stating the consequence of silence; if no other owner objects within two months, consent is deemed given. Where a shared charging installation is later built, the individual charger only has to be switched off by decision of the owners, and not before five years.

Belgium

The co-owner notifies the property manager and the other co-owners by registered letter at least two months before the works. The association can object within those two months, but only on a legitimate interest, for example a planned collective installation. Without a valid objection, the right is acquired. A collective installation on common parking needs a two-thirds majority at the general meeting. Every charger must also be declared to the regional grid operator.

Spain

Article 17.5 of the Horizontal Property Act requires only a prior communication to the community for a charging point on an individual parking space. The installation cost and the electricity are borne by the person who installs it. A press note of the Supreme Court of 12 December 2025 confirmed that the community cannot demand more than this notice, even when the cabling crosses common elements, unless the damage is unnecessary or disproportionate.

Italy

An owner may install a charger on their own parking space at their own cost, informing the building administrator, under the general right of each co-owner to use common property. Collective charging works for the whole car park are approved by the assembly, and owners who do not benefit pay nothing. The 2026 national home charger grant (80% of costs, up to €1,500 for individuals and €8,000 for condominiums) closed early on 27 October 2026 when funds ran out.

Portugal

Since Decree-Law 93/2025, any owner, tenant or legal occupant may install a charging point at their own cost in the building's existing car park without prior approval of the assembly. If the works cross common parts, a written notice must reach the administration at least 30 days before. The building can object only on a limited list of grounds, by a reasoned written decision within 30 days.

Netherlands

In an owners' association (VvE), installing a charger on or through common property still needs the approval of the general meeting under the building's deed of division. If the meeting refuses without good reason, the owner can ask the district court for substitute permission. A bill replacing approval with a simple notification to the board is in preparation; check its status before relying on it.

United Kingdom

In England and Wales, most flats are leasehold: the lease usually forbids alterations to common parts without the freeholder's consent, and a private tenant needs the landlord's consent. On 21 October 2026 the government opened a consultation for England, until 16 December 2026, on making landlords and freeholders decide in good time and not refuse unreasonably. The UK's chargepoint grants give up to £500 to flat owners and renters with private off-street parking, and up to £500 per socket to landlords, until 31 March 2027. Source: GOV.UK, electric vehicle chargepoint grants.

The request, step by step

The details differ, but the same sequence works in every country.

1. Check your rights on the space. Owned, rented or allocated parking; read the deed of division, lease or building rules.
2. Get an installer's survey. Cable route, connection to the flat's meter or to a building supply, load management, compliance with national wiring rules.
3. Send a written notice or request to the property manager or board, with the survey, a drawing, the installer's insurance and certification, and your commitment to pay the works, the electricity and, if asked, the removal.
4. Respect the notice period: two months in Belgium and Austria, 30 days in Portugal, before the next general meeting in the Netherlands.
5. Keep proof of sending and of any answer. If the building objects, the objection must usually be reasoned.
6. Apply for any grant before the works start, where one exists.

When can the building refuse?

Under the right to plug, refusal is the exception. The grounds accepted in national laws are close to each other:

• a collective installation already exists or has been decided within a short period (Portugal: within 90 days; Belgium: a legitimate interest such as a planned shared system);
• a proven safety risk for people or property, backed by a technical opinion;
• damage that is unnecessary or disproportionate to common parts (Spain);
• obstruction of common access or breach of accessibility or fire rules;
• unreasonable burden for the landlord, in the case of a tenant (Germany).

A refusal without reasons, or simple silence, does not block the right in countries with deemed consent or a notice regime. In the Netherlands and in England, where approval is still needed, silence remains the most common obstacle.

How long does it take to get a charger in a flat?

The legal notice period is only one part of the delay. Survey, quotes, the building's answer, installation and, where required, the grid operator's registration add up.

In practice, plan two to four months between the first quote and the first charge in a country with a notice regime, and longer where a vote or a freeholder's consent is needed. That is why the employer's decisions below should be taken before the car is ordered.

Electrical rules and certification

Whatever the property rules, the installation itself must follow national wiring rules, which all derive from the same international standard for EV supply circuits:

• a dedicated circuit for the charger, with its own protection, never an extension of the car park's lighting or general sockets;
• a qualified or registered installer, who issues a certificate or declaration of conformity at the end;
• declaration to the grid operator where required: in Belgium every charger must be declared; in Germany wallboxes must be registered with the network operator, and higher-power units need its approval; in Spain charging installations follow the specific low-voltage instruction ITC-BT-52; in Portugal the installer must be registered with the energy directorate (DGEG).

The certificate matters for the building, for insurance and, often, for the grant. Ask for it before paying the final invoice.

What a charger in a flat costs

The cost depends far more on the building than on the charger itself.

Orders of magnitude observed across European markets in 2026, to check with local installers.

A reinforced socket charges slowly, but enough for typical daily mileage when the car is parked overnight; our comparison of reinforced EV sockets explains when it is enough. Prices for a standard home charger and its installation are in our guide to home charger installation costs.

Unassigned spaces: the collective infrastructure route

When residents have no fixed space, an individual charger is not possible. The answer is a collective installation: a building supply, cabling to all or part of the spaces, and chargers that residents use with a badge, each session being billed to the user per kWh.

This model needs a decision of the owners' meeting in every country, but it is often the cheapest per space and the one grants target first. It also solves the grid connection question, because load management shares the available power between cars. For an employer, it changes the reimbursement method: the driver no longer pays on their household bill but on the building's per-kWh charge.

Company car driver in a flat: who pays, who signs?

For an employer, a driver living in a flat raises three practical questions.

1. Who signs the request? Always the resident, as owner, tenant or occupant. The employer cannot request works on a property it has no rights over, but it can provide a letter confirming the company car and its funding.
2. Who pays for the charger? Many fleets fund a home charger or a fixed amount towards it. The tax treatment of an employer-funded charger at an employee's home differs by country, so check it with payroll or a tax adviser before signing. The installation remains in the home when the driver leaves; the car policy should say what happens then.
3. What if permission is refused or delayed? The car can still run on workplace charging, public charging and any outlet the driver can use. The policy should cover these cases rather than making the company car conditional on a charger.

What the employer should decide before ordering the car

• whether it funds the charger, a share of it or nothing;
• which charging options it accepts (socket, wallbox, building charger) and which certification it requires;
• how home electricity will be reimbursed in each case, including a building charger billed per kWh;
• what happens if the driver moves, leaves the company or gets a different car.

Decide these points early: a notice period or an owners' meeting can take two months or more, and a driver without home charging charges publicly at several times the price per kWh. Our overview of home charging for EV drivers covers the options, and drivers can get installer quotes through our charger installation page. Voltaback does not install chargers itself.

After installation: reimbursing the electricity, even on a shared meter

Once the charger works, the electricity still has to be repaid. Two cases are common in flats:

• The charger is on the flat's own meter: the driver pays on their household bill, and the employer reimburses the car's kWh at the driver's tariff.
• The charger is on a building supply: the building bills the resident, often per kWh measured at the charger or as a share of the total. The employer then reimburses on the basis of that charge.

In both cases, the household meter cannot separate the car from the rest of the flat. Voltaback reads each session from the car's own data, identifies home sessions and prices them at the driver's real tariff, with no box to install in the car park, where mobile signal is often weak. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The company never receives the driver's location. See how it works on our home charging reimbursement page, and for employer-side funding of chargers, our guide to charge point grants for businesses.

Keep drivers in flats on the same footing as everyone else

Drivers in flats wait longer for a charger, and some never get one. A good company car policy plans for both cases and reimburses home charging correctly the moment it starts, in every country where the fleet operates.

Book a demo to see how Voltaback reimburses home charging for every driver, house or flat.